I love “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. The stories are always uplifting and provide a real sense of comfort.

In honor of mothers everywhere, and in time for Mother’s Day there are two new books in the Chicken Soup series. One is for Mothers and Daughters. The other is for Mothers and Sons. Below is a little excerpt from each.

These books make fabulous gifts. I have two of each to giveaway. To enter scroll down and leave a comment…maybe a Mother’s Day memory. Also, please SPECIFY if you would prefer the book for daughters or sons. On Mother’s Day (May 10) I will draw four random winners (two for each book).

Read the excerpt below and enjoy.

Like Mother, Like Daughter:

She Did It Her Way

Mother’s love grows by giving.

~Charles Lamb

“Mom, we’re getting married… sometime in June.” This

from my hippie daughter calling on a pay phone in

Maine. (No phone or electricity at her house — or perhaps

cabin is a better word.)

“We don’t want a fancy wedding or dressy clothes or a lot of

guests. We just want to be married in your backyard. I’ll let you know

the date.”

Long ago, her father and I made up our minds to listen to her and

do things the way she wanted as much as we could. And of course,

I was thrilled she was getting married. I was always secretly worried

that marriage was too “old-fashioned” for her. She was a child of the

’60s, eager to right the wrongs of the world, to live life on the edge

and to never be part of the “establishment.”

Well, backyard weddings can be lovely, I thought. It’s not our

beautiful church with a majestic organ, flowing white dress or bridesmaids.

But, still… I took an upbeat approach, which was really the

only sensible thing to do under the circumstances.

Later with dates arranged, a guest list of sorts (our family and

best friends and “a bunch of friends… we’ll let you know how many”)

and the food decided on (“only veggie stuff and some champagne”),

she agreed I could ask the minister of our church to perform the

ceremony “for legal purposes.”

All negotiations were going well until I mentioned the wedding gown.

“No special dress, Mom. Sorry. Your first daughter, your good daughter

(said with a wry smile, a favorite family joke) did the white dress and veil

thing. Not me. I have lots of clothes that would do for a wedding.”

I thought of all her dresses (short, wild, braless) and realized

that she mostly wore jeans or cut-offs. Nothing I had seen her wear

in years even whispered “wedding” to me.

So in the following days, ignoring my own good advice to let

her do it her way, I wandered around different stores and looked at

dresses that might do for my bride-to-be daughter. Then I saw it:

simple, unbleached muslin with a shirred waist, scooped neckline

with just a bit of Irish lace and little capped sleeves. It was long, but

not floor-length. It was graceful, but not formal. It was lovely and

simple, and it was my daughter.

Envisioning her wearing it, I bought the dress and took it

home.

Later that day, I placed the box on her bed with a little note stating:

“I just happened upon this while shopping (okay, a small white

lie). This looks like you. Would you try it on for me?”

When she came in that evening, she went to her room and all was

quiet. A bit worried I had hurt her feelings with my purchase, I went

upstairs to her room where she sat on the bed holding the dress on her

lap while tears rained down her cheeks — and she was smiling.

“I never knew you thought of me like this, Mom. The dress is so

lovely and soft and simple. I love it. And I’ll love wearing it for the

wedding. Thanks for knowing me so well.”

Two weeks later, on a sun-filled afternoon, friends gathered in

our backyard. Our daughter walked down the steps — to the strum

of a guitar — smiling proudly in her surprise dress. She looked wonderful,

as I knew she would.

It was a perfect wedding… almost.

Had I known her fiancé would be wearing yellow paisley bellbottoms,

I might have shopped for him as well!

~~Julie Firman

Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul

Mothers and Sons:

Against the Odds

It was the summer of 1942. I was nineteen years old and a signalman

third class on the USS Astoria stationed in the South

Pacific.

One hot night in August, we found ourselves skirmishing with

the Japanese for control of Guadalcanal, gearing up for the bloody

battle that soon followed. At midnight, I finished my duty on watch.

Still wearing my work detail uniform of dungarees and a T-shirt, and

only pausing long enough to unstrap my standard-issue life belt and

lay it beside me, I fell into an exhausted sleep.

Two hours later, I was awakened abruptly by the sound of an

explosion. I jumped to my feet, my heart pounding. Without thinking,

I grabbed my life belt and strapped it on. In the ensuing chaos,

I focused on dodging the rain of enemy shells that were inflicting

death and destruction all around me. I took some shrapnel in my

right shoulder and leg, but by some miracle, I avoided being killed.

That first battle of Savo Island lasted for twenty minutes. After the

enemy fire ceased, the men left standing helped with the wounded,

while others manned the guns.

I was making my way toward a gun turret when suddenly, the

deck disappeared. My legs windmilled beneath me as I realized that

an explosion had blasted me off the deck. My shock was immediately

replaced by a stomach-clenching fear as I fell like a stone — thirty feet

into the dark, shark-infested water below.

I immediately inflated my life belt, weak with relief that I’d

somehow remembered to put it on. I noticed between ten and thirty

men bobbing in the water in the area, but we were too far away from

each other to communicate.

I began treading water, trying to stay calm as I felt things brushing

against my legs, knowing that if a shark attacked me, any moment

could be my last. And the sharks weren’t the only danger: The powerful

current threatened to sweep me out to sea.

Four agonizing hours passed this way. It was getting light when

I saw a ship — an American destroyer — approaching. The sailors on

board threw me a line and hauled me aboard.

Once on the ship, my legs buckled and I slid to the deck, unable

to stand. I was fed and allowed to rest briefly. Then I was transported

back to the Astoria, which, though disabled, was still afl oat. The captain

was attempting to beach the ship in order to make the necessary

repairs.

Back on board the Astoria, I spent the next six hours preparing

the dead for burial at sea. As the hours passed, it became clear our

vessel was damaged beyond help. The ship was taking on water and

finally, around twelve hundred hours, the Astoria began to roll and

go under.

The last thing I wanted to do was to go into that water again, but

I knew I had to. Filled with dread, I jumped off the high side of the

sinking ship and began swimming. Although I still had my life belt

on, it couldn’t be inflated a second time. Luckily, I was soon picked

up by another destroyer and transferred to the USS Jackson.

Against all the odds, I had made it — one of the lucky men to

survive the battle of Savo Island. We were issued Marine uniforms,

and I spent my time, in between visits to the ship’s doctors for treatment

of my wounds, sitting on the deck of the Jackson, waiting for

our transport to San Francisco’s Treasure Island and the leave that

would follow.

Though it felt odd to wear the unfamiliar uniform, I wasn’t

sad to lose my old dungarees and T-shirt. The one thing I found

I didn’t want to give up was my life belt. I hung on to the khaki

cloth-covered rubber belt, studying it sometimes as I sat around on

the Marine ship.

The label on the belt said it had been manufactured by Firestone

Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, which was my hometown. I

decided to keep the belt as a souvenir, a reminder of how lucky I’d been.

When I finally took my thirty-day leave, I went home to my family

in Ohio. After a quietly emotional welcome, I sat with my mother

in our kitchen, telling her about my recent ordeal and hearing what

had happened at home since I went away. My mother informed me

that “to do her part,” she had taken a wartime job at the Firestone

plant. Surprised, I jumped up and grabbed my life belt from my duffel

bag, putting it on the table in front of her.

“Take a look at that, Mom,” I said. “It was made right here in

Akron at your plant.”

She leaned forward and, taking the rubber belt in her hands,

she read the label. She had just heard the story and knew that in

the darkness of that terrible night, it was this one piece of rubber

that had saved my life. When she looked up at me, her mouth and

her eyes were open wide with surprise. “Son, I’m an inspector at

Firestone. This is my inspector number,” she said, her voice hardly

above a whisper.

We stared at each other, too stunned to speak. Then I stood up,

walked around the table and pulled her up from her chair. We held

each other in a tight embrace, saying nothing. My mother was not a

demonstrative woman, but the significance of this amazing coincidence

overcame her usual reserve. We hugged each other for a long,

long time, feeling the bond between us. My mother had put her arms

halfway around the world to save me.

~Elgin Staples

Chicken Soup for the Veteran’s Soul

Happy Mother’s Day everyone,

xoxo

-Carla

Don’t forget to enter the other giveaway if you haven’t already

The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It

This book, which I discovered in People magazine, discusses how the media distorts and undermines girl’s sexual progress by spreading myths about the way girls should dress, act and feel. We all know what they are talking about…from little girls in skimpy clothes to padded bras for children that are just hitting puberty.

There is a scene in the movie “Mean Girls” that showcases this perfectly. It’s the one when all the girls go over to Regina’s house and her little sister is standing in front of the tv flashing her chest and watching “Girl’s Gone Wild” and another time trying to dance like the video for “Milkshake (my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard…)”. She is so young and yet that is what she is aspiring to do.

(I mean I guess the whole “Mean Girls” movie falls into this category because everyone wants to be like these mean girls who are just overtly sexy when they should be finding themselves in high school.)

Even children’s toys today put an emphasis on sexy. One of the top selling dolls for kids is Bratz dolls. The book explains this by saying “The doll projects a sexuality that has more to do with working on the Sunset Strip than enjoying a healthy girlhood.”

We as parents need to be aware of this problem so we can take an active roll. It is very important that we speak to our daughters so that they understand that what makes them unique is multifaceted and that sexuality is only one part of the equation.

I highly recommend checking out this book. Click on the link above to find it on amazon.com.

xoxo

-Carla

If you are looking for an alternative to “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” or you just want another handy book to check out I highly recommend “From The Hips“. This book speaks about everything to do with pregnancy, birth and becoming a parent.

I liked this book a lot because I found it much more candid then “What to Expect”. I especially liked all the comment bubbles with candid quotes from actual parents.

This book is extremely comprehensive and very uncensored. The pages are all packed with information (and by packed I mean writing everywhere) which can be a little overwhelming. However, I found that this being my third pregnancy I just need a book a little different from the rest.

Like I said before, I highly recommend checking this book out if only to see all it has to offer.

Hope all my pregnant readers are feeling well,

xoxo

-Carla

Dr. Seuss is one of the all time classic children’s authors. His whimsical books bring joy and silliness to children’s lives. From “The Cat in the Hat” to “Horton Hears a Who” these books have all become classics.

However, I find that many kids today are not getting to hear these Fabulous books that open up a world of imagination. So, this week I am spotlighting Dr. Seuss books. I think every home library should contain them. Below are a few of my all time favorites.

Cat in the Hat is a classic Dr.Seuss book about a cat who transforms a rainy day into one filled with fun and mischief.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish is a wonderful way to introduce young children to rhyming words. The creative, made up names for different animals will keep even the most imaginative child entertained.

Green Eggs and Ham tells the story of Sam-I-Am who will do anything not to try the plate of green eggs and ham being offered to him.

Horton Hears a Who is about a lovable elephant who hears a sound on a speck of dust and try to save the tiny world of Whos.

So make sure to check these books out and share the fun with your children.

xoxo

-Carla

I am starting my Fabulous Book List with the author Sandra Boynton. I have not read a book of hers that both I and my kids have not fallen in love with. At a young age my son loved to read Snuggle Puppy! (A Love Song). He has since moved on to books with more word and right now is obsessed with her book called Hippos Go Berserk!.

We also recently received Your Personal Penguin which has a link to the song version of it online. They love to sing along.

My personal favorite is Moo, Baa, La La La!. Unfortunately I haven’t bought this book yet but we always seem to bring it home from the library. I could read that book a million times to my kids without ever getting bored…that is the sign of a really good children’s book because it keeps both parent and child entertained.

Here are some other great books of hers to check out.

(Click on any book to be taken to the site)

I hope that your kids all love these books as much as mine do and that you find them as Fabulous to read as well.

xoxo

-Carla

I know that one of the first things I got when I found out I was pregnant was the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Third Edition”. This book was really helpful for me but I felt so bad that there was nothing for my husband. Then one day my mother sent him “Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads” This is a Fabulous book for fathers. Now, I must preface by saying that this book is not a guidebook like “What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Third Edition” is, it is much more of an entertainment book but is packed with real tips and facts for dad…starting with what a newborn REALLY looks like.

My husband absolutely loved this book. He tried all the fun facts (called “party tricks” in the book) that he read. For example, the book told about the moro reflex in which you stimulate falling for the baby who will react by throwing his or her arms and legs out to help gain balance. I can not even tell you how many of his friends my husband was all too eager to show this to. My husband and I also got a real kick out of the ideas in this book. I think one of my favorites was when it taught how to make a diaper out of a tube sock and duct tape. This was hilarious to me because along with the funny illustrations I could see some guys really doing this.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a little gift to help daddy be more prepared, if you or your husband are anxious or stressed about an upcoming birth and need something to help brighten yours and his day, or if you are already a parent but want a new book to read. I hope you all check it out because the book has a lot more to offer then I can write without wanting to explain every page in detail. It is a light read, full of illustrations and will help daddy feel a little more Fabulous about being a dad.

Hello again,

To me being fabulous means being the best that I can be…to do that I have to get enough sleep. Since having kids this has been one of my biggest hurdles. With my first child I rarely got a straight three hours at night. By the middle of the night I was so exhausted that I just took him into my bed with me and nursed him pretty much the rest of the night. It wasn’t until he was over a year old that I finally got him sleeping through the night. To do that I used the cry-it-out method (which was very very hard for me and I did not enjoy). With my daughter I had high hopes. In the hospital she let me have six uninterrupted hours the first two nights. I was ecstatic, thinking I would be able to get enough sleep this time and be my fabulous self with my kids during the day. However, that dream quickly disappeared as she started waking up numerous times at night. I was exhausted and felt lazy and unable to give my kids the attention they deserved. Desperate for an answer I decided to utilize my Facebook network and get other mother’s advice. I got tons of good ideas from crying it out (not very recommended by most people) to the family bed idea. None of these seemed to work for me (although they may work for many).

Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on children sleeping because I obviously am not. However, I stumbled across a fabulous book (FABULOUS being key) at a friend’s house that I must share with you all. It’s called “The complete Idiot’s guide to sleep training for your child” by Melissa M. Burnham PhD. & Jennifer Lawter PhD. My favorite thing about this book is that it is not preaching one method over another. It explains how children sleep at night and possible reasons for waking up. It goes through the “crying-out” method as well as variations on it such as the “systematic ignoring with parental presence”. It also discusses ideas such as scheduled awakenings, bedtime routines, co-sleeping and how to combine the different approaches. Also, it looks at holistic approaches such as hypnosis, meditation, yoga, massage, and creating soothing environments. Finally, it also discusses older children’s sleeping issues. Why toddlers may stop sleeping through the night and how to gets school aged children ready for bed.

This book was wonderful because I got an overview of what the root of the problems could have been as well as many options to try and resolve them. In the end, for me, it was my mother-in-law who go them to sleep through the night and realized that our problem was trying to establish a schedule in a one bedroom apartment. Once our kids had their own spaces they slept much better and longer.

In the end, the best advice I can give you is to BE CONSISTENT. Establishing a routine at a young age and sticking to it as much as possible creates a much more pleasant child then just allowing them to go until they fall asleep when they are tired. If you stick to it long enough you too can be getting a full night’s sleep. Thanks to the book, my mother-in-law and consistency I now get my evenings to myself and can be a FABULOUS MOMMY during the day.

xoxo Carla